Handy-class destroyer
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 HMS Hunter | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Handy class |
| Builders | Fairfields, Govan |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Banshee class |
| Succeeded by | Sunfish class |
| Built | 1895 |
| In commission | 1895–1914 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Torpedo boat destroyer |
| Displacement | 275 long tons (279 t) |
| Length | 194 ft (59 m) |
| Propulsion | Thornycroft boilers, 4,000 hp (2,983 kW) |
| Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Complement | 53 |
| Armament |
|
Three Handy-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy. Handy, Hart and Hunter were all built by Fairfield.
Design and construction
[edit | edit source]As part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, the British Admiralty placed orders for 36 torpedo-boat destroyers, all to be capable of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotters" ordered in the previous 1892–1893 Estimates. Of the 36 destroyers, three ships (Handy, Hart and Hunter) were ordered from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan,[1] the first torpedo craft to be built by that shipyard.[2] As typical for torpedo craft at the time, the Admiralty left detailed design to the builders, laying down only broad requirements.[3][4]
Fairfield's design was 197 feet (60.05 m) long overall and 194 feet (59.13 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 19 feet 5 inches (5.92 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m). Displacement was 275 long tons (279 t) light and 310 long tons (310 t) full load,[2] while the ship's complement was 53 officers and men.[5] Three Thornycroft boilers fed steam at 215 pounds per square inch (1,480 kPa) to two 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW) and driving two propeller shafts.[2] Two funnels were fitted.[6] Armament consisted of a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt[a] gun and three 6-pounder guns, with two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.[7] As a gunboat, one of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders.[8][9][b]
In September 1913 the Admiralty re-classed all the surviving 27-knotter destroyers as A Class, although this only applied to Handy herself as the other two ships had already been sold for scrap in 1912.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ While many of the 27-knotters later carried both the two torpedo tubes and all 5 six-pounder guns, stability concerns prevented Handy from following suit.[10]
Citations
[edit | edit source]Bibliography
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